While on sabbatical, I listened to an audio book called At home in Mitford. A little phrase caught my attention and describes far too many people: “too tired to run and too scared to rest.”

We are a society that is forever busy. In fact, so busy that we can’t keep up with everything we are trying to do. We have said yes to too many things and find that we are lagging behind in our commitments. We are too scared to rest because that might show that we are not as capable as others. It may show that we have limitations. We may feel guilty that we cannot do as much as the person who is still running. We don’t want to say no because everything is interesting. I might miss something.

The bottom line is this: there is no honor in a person who does less than he is capable of (lazy) or a person who tries to live beyond his limitations (proud). Take a day off. Use your vacation. It is not you who does the work—it is God!